Lewiston 'halfway there' in food competition

by jmaloni

Wed, May 16th 2012 02:00 pm

by Joshua Maloni

Lewiston has taken the first step in winning a spot in the
Rand McNally-USA Today 2012 Best Small Towns in America list. Thanks to the
efforts of grassroots volunteers, Lewiston netted 806 votes to win the online
portion of the "Best for Food" category.

"We won the online voting contest decisively," said
volunteer Lee Simonson. The second highest vote getter was Burnsville, Minn.,
with 580 votes.

While the victory is sweet, Simonson said it is only part of
the formula that will determine the ultimate "Best for Food" winner. Rand
McNally and USA Today also will consider the quality of reviews and the opinion
of traveling judges.

"In my opinion, we're halfway there," Simonson said.

With regard to the reviews, voters were encouraged to say
why they were casting a ballot for a particular place. Simonson said Lewiston's
reviews were "excellent" and "outstanding" and listed, in detail, why
Lewiston's culinary offerings reign supreme.

"It's hard to find ... a style of food that you don't
like," Simonson said.

That Lewiston has more than two-dozen eateries within one
square-mile - everything from barbecue to Italian - is "amazing," he said.

The final category involves in-person visits by a pair of
judges. If Lewiston is selected to receive such exploration, two panelists will
visit sometime after June 15.

Simonson said Lewiston has an advantage here, as well. While
other towns and cities used professional marketing agencies to promote their wares,
"Rand McNally knows this (Lewiston campaign) was a 100 percent volunteer
effort," he said.

Unpaid locals, with nothing more than pride for Lewiston,
took time to register and vote online for what they deem "Best for Food."

"I can only tell you that Rand McNally was very impressed,"
Simonson said. "I think that's going to be a big plus for us."

Jon DiBernardo, owner of Water Street Landing in the Village
of Lewiston, said "it would be great to win" the "Best for Food" competition.
Regardless of the final outcome, however, he said inclusion in this national
conversation is already a victory.

"Lewiston is worth (the visit)," he said. "Everybody that
comes here raves about what a great place it is."

"We have a great community of restaurants," DiBernardo said.

The 2012 Best Small Towns in America list of finalists will
be printed in the May 25 edition of USA Today. For more information, visit http://www.bestoftheroad.com.

Winning locations will be included in the Rand McNally "Best of the
Road" travel guides and in the Rand McNally road atlas.